Personal financial planning is something that everyone should incorporate into their lives. “Planning” is the operative word in the term “financial planning.” Without “planning” built into your financial landscape, you will retire without a nest egg (if you can retire at all!), have a wedding with far less fanfare and money than you hoped, bring children into the world without a “plan” (a four-letter word to some) to pay for college and live hand-to-mouth throughout life.

It is not a pretty existence, nor is it one that people typically enjoy. Add that one word, planning, along with the corresponding activity, and you have a life free from many of the hassles and headaches associated with life void of a plan.

Regardless of what age you are, it’s never too late to plan. Admittedly, it’s better to start young, but don’t discount yourself if you are in your twilight years. Set up a plan to carry out your plan. Start a financial diary where you monitor your progress along the way to ensure your financial planning becomes a habit. This will reveal when you’ve achieved your milestones, so you can celebrate, but also show you where you have struggles. Some have described this as a life saver.

To begin, purchase a journal to document your financial planning journey. Keep in mind that you are much more likely to act on a goal when you physically write it down. Also, to have a point of reference, date every entry you make in your journal.

On your journal’s first page write [your name] Life Goals. On the next page or two begin with writing down life goals on each line of the page. Include activities like buying a new car, buying a home, getting a specific type of dog, marriage, establishing a budget, if you don’t already have one, and any other goals that are relevant to your life. Don’t put more than one life goal on each line. Don’t give it much thought, at first. Just jot down each one as it comes to mind.

Now, you’re going to review the life goals you just jotted down, and put them in chronological order on a new page in your journal. Date it at the top. This time, you want to put a lot of thought into the timeline you want these goals achieved. On a fresh page, arrange your life goals in a chronological order that makes the most sense. Again, put only one life goal on each line.

Next, you need to determine how much money you will spend on each. This will give you a basis for planning each event in your life. Add the cost beside each of the corresponding life goals. Primary to all financial planning is a written budget. You have to have a detailed portrait of your finances to understand how to effectively plan for life events.

In your financial journal, place a new entry that identifies all your expenses in one section and all your income in another. Subtract your expenses from your income. What is left is what you have to work with for savings. Determine when you want to have the cash to pay for your next big purchase and plan the savings accordingly.

If you want to have a down payment for a car in one year, determine how much you need to save in that one year, divide that amount by your number of paychecks, then begin to save that amount for the next year. Document your journey in your journal as to how the process is working for you. Do this for each and every purchase you anticipate in life, and you’ll find that you are far less stressed than you ever would have believed possible.

Sherry Zander is a freelance writer who writes for several company websites. Subjects on which she writes include, but are not limited to, personal finance, real estate, estate planning, women’s issues, health and a multitude of other subjects.

If you are in need of a freelance writer for articles, blogs, reports, e-books, press releases and anything else you need written, Sherry is the one who can get it done.

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The most important starting point when building a portfolio is asset mix. In fact, it is so important that if it is done incorrectly, the investor stands to not only lose over the course of his or her investment career, but will be subjected to tremendous and unnecessary strain and stress. The right asset mix will help reduce losses to acceptable psychological and, hopefully financial, limits by incorporating the following:

1. Time Availability. By incorporating an investor’s time availability, the asset mix can provide investors with an acceptable level of risk. Most evidently, short-term availability will limit the investor’s investment choice to more conservative investments so that there is little, if any, risk of loss on the principal amount being invested.

2. Investment Goals. By incorporating an investor’s investment goals into the asset mix, financial planners and even individual investors are able to see where they intend to invest. An investor is more growth-oriented will understand that their portfolio will fluctuate, sometimes greatly and will therefore be better prepared mentally to accommodate such fluctuations compared to a more income-oriented investor who would not. Knowing what your goals are is important, so make sure you give the question the attention it deserves.

3. Risk Tolerance. While time and investment goals are very important, someone with sufficient time to invest and a growth mentality will need to have the risk tolerance to support the growth investments. If risk tolerance is low in spite of the investor’s investment goals, then growth assets are normally not recommended on any large scale. Instead, growth would be limited to the point where even the most dramatic fluctuations to that part of the investor’s portfolio would have little or no consequence to the overall financial objective.

An appropriate asset mix will incorporate each of the above factors. Conveniently, these are also the most basic questions one must ask himself or herself when constructing an investment plan; by asking these questions and knowing the answers, an appropriate asset mix can be constructed and the plan can be implemented.

In the event of shortfalls or major discrepancies (such as an investor who wants to save $1,000,000 over a 15 year period but has so little risk tolerance than a maximum annual return of 5% is more realistic than the higher rates earned on growth investments), then changes need to be made to the asset mix. That means the investors will need to re-examine how the three factors above were measured; can they take a little longer to save, can their goals shift to more aggressive, growth-oriented goals and/or can they accept a higher degree of risk. If the answer is no, then they will need to adjust their overall goal.

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With an ageing population becoming a prominent problem in almost every Western society, and a corresponding lack of state funds to pay out adequate pensions, financially planning for your retirement has never been so important. If you don’t, you could be facing a reduced standard of living that becomes more difficult as you get older. With life expectancy still growing, there’s no telling how far your savings might go.

As with any financial planning, the first thing that you have to do is identify what your potential incomings and outgoings are likely to be. If you’re still a way off retirement this is likely to be little more than an estimate, if you are just about to retire or have just retired it’s still not too late to be planning your financial future, and it makes this job easier.

You need to first sit down and total up your income during retirement: this will include any state or private pension that you have, savings and/or any part-time work you are/will be doing. If you have any other sources of income that will continue during retirement, include these too. Then make an approximation of monthly outgoings. You can never be exact with this but rough figures will do for now. Later on, if you find your figures wildly out with your plan, you can adjust accordingly.

What you might find is that you income doesn’t go nearly as far as you’re used to, and you might be bracing yourself for a more austere retirement than you would otherwise have hoped for. This is one reason to start putting into a pension as early as possible, but if you are much closer to retirement then investment is certainly an option to look at.

If you can identify an amount of money that can be invested, whether as a lump sum or in small monthly installments, depending on how you invest, you could find yourself getting a significant return on your investment without sacrificing too much in the short term. And the advantage of this approach is that it could significantly improve your retirement standard of living.

There are many options for investment that don’t have to involve playing the stock market. It might be an idea to speak to your local bank, or if you have another financial advisor at your disposal, all the better. You can do things as simple as putting some money in an ISA, one of the best options, as interest earned from one is tax-free. You can find some great government advice at nidirect.

Whatever you do, you don’t want to end up faced with a meagre pension and a lump sum of savings to last you throughout your retirement. Part-time work could help ease the financial burden but you don’t want to rely on this either, perhaps nor do you want to work in your retirement. Whether you’re 40 years or 4 years off your retirement, it’s important to start planning now.

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If you find yourself a good financial planner they’ll be able to help you out in many ways:

Discovering Problems and Goals – You may be having trouble determining just what it is you want to do with the money you’ll be earning through your investments. A financial planner can help you brainstorm the things you would like to do. They can also point out any problems they can see in your current goals and plan.

Creating Strategies to Reach Your Financial Goals – Once you decide where you want to get to financially, you’ll next have to figure out the best way to get there. A decent financial planner will be able to devise several routes for you to take to make it to your goal. They will discuss each of these options with you and you can choose which one makes the most sense to you and feels most comfortable.

Prioritizing – You may be doing many good things for yourself financially, but if you don’t put them in the right order, they won’t be very effective. A financial planner will show you how you can best organize your efforts to get maximum benefits.

Doing Research – You can save many hours worth of time by using a financial planner. Have them do all of the research that you would normally have had to do. There’s so much bad information for you to sift through out there, that your planner will be able to navigate more easily and present you with solid info.

Getting Commission-Free Products – You’ll want to get a financial planner that charges for their time. That way you won’t be paying any commissions on the products you buy. This can add up to a substantial savings.

Being Objective – Your financial planner will be the one that will help you keep your emotions out of your financial decision making. If you are going gaga over a certain product because of hype or some other good things you’ve heard, your planner will help bring you back to earth so you can make level-headed purchases.

Giving You a Push – Sometimes you’ll need a catalyst to help get you to take action. All of the research and contemplating is good because it saves you from losing money, but you can’t make money until you just do it. Your financial planner can be the one to give that little nudge when you need it.

Being a Mediator – Nothing can incite an argument between a couple quite like money matters. Your financial planner can offer unbiased advice that appeases both you and your partner.

Make You Money – The name of the entire game is to get your money making you money. Your financial planner should be a valuable asset to your portfolio. If they are consistently bringing you valuable products and good information you will be really happy you found them.

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A death in the state of Oklahoma leads the decedent’s estate into the probate process and a filing of estate taxes. According to the website of the Oklahoma state government there are three tax forms that need to be completed. Completion of these forms begins with the 35 page Form 454 and it’s 14 schedules ranging from Real Estate (Schedule A-1) to Oil, Gas and Minerals (Schedule A-2) to Intangible Personal Property (Schedule C-1).

Have I lost you yet?

We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of Oklahoma’s estate tax process. Form 454 is 35 pages with 14 schedules and it is just the first of three forms to complete. There are estate exemptions for heirs that change depending on the year the person dies.

You have other concerns

When someone dies it’s often hard to know what to do and who to go to first. There are so many things that need to be considered when someone close has died such as financial planning, estate conservation and taxation issues, but when we are in mourning these tasks can be the straw that breaks the camels back. When it’s a close family member, we face the difficult tasks of saying goodbye by making final arrangements like the funeral and notifying others of our loss. Facing the loss of a loved one is hard enough without having to worry about their failure to plan their estate and their finances, but unfortunately it’s the reality that many people face.

The questions of, “What to do and who to go to?” arise quickly at a time when we’re probably not ready to cope with the legal or financial concerns of the deceased person’s estate. We may look for someone we can go to, but who can help us when someone dies and their finances are in disarray?

Seek Out Professional Help

A professional financial planner, experienced in estate conservation and tax legislation, is your answer. In Oklahoma for example, the level of complexity regarding financial concerns depends entirely on how well the deceased planned his or her estate. When someone dies and no estate or financial planning has been completed, getting a financial planner to look through the finances is a sensible first step. This will solve your problem of what to do and who to go to, because a financial planner will be able to assist you in organizing and managing your loved ones assets and finances.

There are several categories of financial concerns and they include:

• Bills
• Life Insurance
• Continuing a Business
• Notify Employer or Pension Benefits Manager
• Social Security
• Credit Cards

The number of financial considerations alone can be overwhelming. If your loved one hasn’t planned ahead these financial concerns then professional help is crucial for completing this process correctly. To these we can also add tax concerns that might cost heirs a lot of money and reduce the value of the estate. If the deceased made financial and estate plans during their lifetime, there will probably be returns to be filed and some tax due but, if the financial and estate planning has to take place after death then, the reality is that there might be substantial taxes due.

Tracy Rice writes article for Estate-and-Probate.com. The site is devoted to providing families with the help and resources they need in the days and weeks after a loved one’s death. Estate taxes are tricky and best handled by professionals.

Please follow these links for more information on Oklahoma Estate Taxes or Oklahoma Financial Planning.

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Minimize Minnesota Property Tax with Financial Planning

If you have more than one residential property or one or more business properties then you will probably be familiar with Minnesota property tax rules. Unfortunately, there’s no getting around property tax, but with proper financial planning you may be able to minimize your tax expenditure both while you’re alive and after you’ve passed on.

The Basics of Minnesota Property Tax

Minnesota’s property taxes are quite complex but in basic terms, it is a tax levied on any kind of property. Taxes on personal property can target:

• Automobiles, cars and other vehicles
• Valuable durable goods
• Works of art
• Business inventory
• Intangible assets such as stocks and bonds

The Case for Robust Financial Planning

Robust financial planning can help to ensure that you are not paying more tax than you are required to pay. And financial planning can ensure that you are claiming all the refunds that are available to you in the state of Minnesota.

Financial and estate planning can help a great deal with reducing the amount of tax that will have to be paid on your property and assets after your death. This is one of the biggest benefits of creating a financial or estate plan while you are living.

Refund Programs in Minnesota

If you have several real estate holdings then you may know already that Minnesota’s property tax system has refund programs based on household income and on the (property) taxes paid on the principal place of residence. You can qualify for this tax reduction if you are an owner occupying your house as your main place of residence or if you are a relative living in the owner’s house. Property tax on real estate in Rochester, MN is levied at the Olmsted county level and the tax rate is two tiered:

1. one to three family residential properties are taxed at the Homestead Rate
2. while other properties are taxed at the higher Non-Homestead Rate

Expert financial planning will guarantee that you are not paying more than you have to.

Minnesota’s Double Tax

If you’re a city property owner then you get a double tax blow by receiving a combined City and School Tax Bill. Tax due is calculated by multiplying the tax percentage set by law for its class against the assessed market value of the property. If you (or your family members once you have passed away) disagree with the assessor and you believe your property is over-assessed, you may appeal to The Board of Appeal and Equalization to have your property reviewed. A financial planner with sound knowledge of the Minnesota property tax system can help you with this process by comparing the neighboring property values and seeking an adjustment on yours or your families’ behalf.

Tracy Rice writes article for Estate-and-Probate.com. The site is devoted to providing families with the help and resources they need in the days and weeks after a loved one’s death.

If you are a resident of Minnesota, our office can help you with detailed information concerning local property tax as well as meet all your estate and financial planning requirements. Get Minnesota Property Tax help.

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If you are looking forward to your retirement being funded by social security, you are going to have a rude awakening when the day of your retirement comes around. While social security was originally set up as a way to forced retirement savings plan for all Americans, there may not be any money left when you are ready to retire. Worst for many Americans is that they made no financial planning for retirement and are counting on getting a social security check every month to support them through their retirement years. If you don’t want to find yourself in the same situation, you need to start planning for retirement needs now to ensure comfortable retirement years to come. No matter how old you are or how much you can afford to put aside, start planning for your retirement.

The first step to making your retirement dreams come true is to think about what you want your retirement to look like. Do you picture yourself on a pink sanded beach in Bermuda; or on a cruise ship island hopping Greek Islands; or maybe traveling the small towns of the United States in a RV? You may only have ten years until retirement day or may its only five. Whatever your time frame, its never too late to start your retirement investment planning and to give your money the time it needs to work for you to help make your retirement dream come true.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when you are ready to start your retirement planning:

1. Calculate how much money you’ll need when you retire. This part of retirement planning depends on large part how you want to live during your golden years.

2. If your employer offers a 401K plan, include that in your retirement savings plan portfolio. Contributions made to your 401K plans are pre-tax and that’s the big advantage in making your money grow. When possible, contribute the maximum dollar amount you can to get the best “match” from your employer. There are some negatives with 401K plans, so be sure you know the terms of the plans you want to enroll in.

3. Some people plan their retirement by investing in a traditional IRA. With this type if retirement savings plan, you have complete control over your retirement planning – but again, there may be limits on the contributions you can make.

4. In an uncertain economy, many people use their retirement saving plans as a bank account to draw money whenever they need it – or cash it out when they lose a job or need money for a house or financial emergencies. If at all possible, leave your retirement account alone to let it grow. Find other way to finance you day-to-day living expenses.

5. Diversify, diversify, diversify. Every retirement plan should be diversifies to spread out the risk so that all your investments aren’t in one basket. If we learned anything from the recent setbacks in the economy, it should be never put all your money in one type of investment.

6. If you worked for a company that went bankrupt, your pension may still be secure. Do your research to find out if you have a pension you can rely on during retirement and figure that money into planning for retirement needs.

The current downturn in the economic condition, many people are nervous about investing their money in riskier, and potentially higher return investments. Instead, they are leaving their retirement monies in secure but low interest paying bank CDs or savings accounts, and having to delay the start of their retirement or downgrade their projected retirement lifestyle. If you want to keep your retirement on track and grow for you, but your are not sure where to find the best retirement plans to invest your money, get some retirement planning advice from a retirement planning expert and then make informed decisions to put the best retirement savings plans to work for you.

Get the right tools to calculate how much money you need for retirement by visiting BestRetirementInvestmentPlan.com – a website that offers information on retirement planning including tips on setting retirement goals, do-it-yourself retirement planning software, and professional retirement planning services to help you make the best of your financial planning for retirement.

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The Perfect Equation

Right out of the gate every consultant knows that personal financial planning begins by ensuring the amount of money coming in exceeds the amount being spent. When developing a wealth strategy or a success formula, this ratio becomes the benchmark.

Although this article is based upon personal financial management, entrepreneurs know that these principles can be applied to their businesses as well.

1. Increase cash flow

2. Debt elimination

3. Build wealth

The Growth Concept

Why did corporate America decide somewhere in the last decade that they could fix the cash flow ratio by cutting expenses as opposed to increasing revenue? Growth in business allows for more employees. Stripping the workforce makes expansion impossible and increases the workload on the remaining employees.

From the perspective of home economics, if I increase the flow of cash into the equation, budget items like entertainment and vacations become features of a more exciting lifestyle. The increase in cash flow can be used to leverage more free time by hiring domestic services.

Entrepreneurs use this personal financial education to grow their businesses by hiring people. Higher profits allow business owners to outsource or directly hire people. As more of the day to day activity is offloaded, more time becomes available to pursue other interests; they discover lifestyle by design.

Muck and Mire

Many personal financial services companies exist to help people reduce debt. When we think of debt as a necessary component of our plan we have to ask ourselves, ‘Will this debt produce an asset or a liability?’

Every dollar and every day spent in debt affects how much longer we have to grow before we decide to retire. Debt reduction is like bandaging a bigger problem.

Wealthy people don’t incur losses by paying interest on debts that negatively impact personal financial planning. They give money away because it does help by reducing their taxes and reinforcing the economy in which they live.

Debt reduction is not the same as debt elimination. By eliminating debt, the increase of cash flow allows people to build wealth.

Gathering, Building and Maintaining

It’s possible to increase cash flow, eliminate all your debts and still have nothing to show for it at the end of your days.

Building wealth that endures serves our descendants as well as our world. Great men and women who leave a legacy do so because their vision, or mission in life was greater than the attainment of wealth and prosperity.

This is simply another financial principle. Although the objective is to become wealthy, there is always a reason, a purpose behind it.

That reason can be as shallow as wanting to live poolside in the lap of luxury for the rest of our lives, or deeply involved in alleviating world hunger.

An individual’s personal mission usually includes what they want to leave behind for their family. We know as finite beings that we can’t “Take it with us” which is why a good personal financial representative will always ask, ‘Why do you want this amount before you retire?’

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It is a sad reality but many people do not properly plan out a proper financial plan and the damage from this can be crushing! Most people tend to think nothing will happen to them because they are still at a young age and they always put off financial planning for another day.

It is time for families to take money management and personal financial planning serious. Most families make several mistakes in this area that need to be avoided.

They have inadequate money for family emergencies or additional wealth building opportunities. It is always critical to have an emergency nest egg set aside. It is recommended to have at least six months of emergency money saved up to handle emergency situations. By budgeting yourself properly you will be able to save this amount of money.

No Budget Set. This is a disaster in the works. It is critical to have a budget set that the family abides by. By setting up a proper budget you will not be forced into the rut of living paycheck to paycheck.

Not understanding your benefits. It is important that you put the maximum amount into your savings and 401K that you can afford, especially with companies that match all of your contributions. This is one of the most misused opportunities for one to save on taxes.

The main income earner does not have disability insurance. Make sure you know exactly how much disability insurance you have. If an unforeseen event was to happen and you could not work you will need to fall back on disability insurance in order to pay for the bills, food, and just everyday living. Be certain to review what disability insurance benefits you have.

Don’t use tax reduction as a goal. Many people look at tax reduction as a goal to help better their situations. While this is obviously not a bad idea to reduce taxes when possible but focus more on growing your income.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Always spread out your investments and do not put everything into one basket. A simple reminder of the tech stock crash should be enough to teach anybody a lesson that putting all of your money into one area is a very risky and dangerous move.

Have proper insurance. Make certain that your home is properly insured. Many people do not understand that they are way under insured on their home and the contents within the house. Make certain to check your policy to see what areas need to be worked on.

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Starting a career in financial planning will take a lot of hard work and dedication to be successful. A financial planner specializes in the planning aspect of finances, usually finance planners focus on the aspect of personal finance rather than investments and insurance. This is an extremely lucrative career because of the increase in college graduates who need help after graduation forming a budget to pay back loans. A financial planning career requires extensive knowledge in the finance sector, ability to set and help assist in clients sustaining financial goals and helping clients build financial security.

Knowing the finance industry is a must for any financial planning professional. This career requires substantial knowledge in finance because it directly affects an individual’s spending and saving habits. A bachelor’s degree in finance is a very effective way to showcase your knowledge in the field. Having a 4 year degree will allow you to find the necessary experience with jobs and connections with other successful financial planners. This will only add to your credentials when you officially decide to go into a financial planning career. A finance concentration is offered at universities across the country and they will provide you with the necessary knowledge to success as a professional financial planner.

Once your education and experience reflect that of a successful financial planning career then you can start accessing your abilities to further advance your career. It is important that you understand the process of setting financial goals for your client. This includes potential budget concerns and strategizing spending habits for a certain period of time. Your main priority it to ensure that your client will meet all possible financial goals they desire without losing money in the mean time. A financial planning career can become demanding so it important that you and your client have a significant trust in each other.

The next step to a successful financial planning career once you have set a strategy for your client is to build their future. Financial planning does not stop when the goals are met. This career allows you the ability to help individuals or business owners to find some financial security once they choose to move on to retirement. Also, this step will help with creating college funds for your children and ridding the worries of healthcare. A financial planning career is rewarding for the simple reason that you have the chance to help people secure their future.

Financial planning is a multi-step process that will allow you to access your client’s particular financial situation and make the best decisions to help them. A Financial planner career will take a lot of work and research but if you are up for the challenge it can be a very powerful career to pursue. Finances are a major part of society and it sometimes takes professional help for you to handle it correctly. The growth of risk takers seems to continue to increase everyday and with risk takers there will always be a need for financial advice.

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